


The Bug

by perniciousLizard



Series: The Spark [3]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, Post-Pacifist Route, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-06-05
Packaged: 2018-07-12 08:05:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7093570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perniciousLizard/pseuds/perniciousLizard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mettaton has had worse employees than Sans, but not many.  One of these days he'll get around to firing him.  Not today, though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Bug

**Author's Note:**

> **Write about someone changing their opinion about someone.**
> 
> I wrote this for day twenty-seven of a "change" themed 30 Day challenge. The whole challenge is [here](https://alloftheseprompts.wordpress.com/2015/12/30/30-day-challenge-writing-about-change/) and all the entries I've finished are [here](http://it-refused.tumblr.com/tagged/30-day-change).

Mettaton knew Sans more through reputation, at first.  He had seen him and even watched his show once or twice at the MTT Resort.  Most people knew Sans, somehow.  He seemed to be everywhere.  He lacked the frenetic energy and enthusiasm of his brother, but still always managed to make an impression.  

When the monsters reached the surface and Papyrus started working on Mettaton’s stage show, Sans was always around.  Even when they traveled, every few days he would show up to check on his brother, wherever they were in the world.  

There was a certain dedication to that.  There was at least one area where Sans wasn’t lazy.  So when Papyrus tried to convince Mettaton to hire Sans on, he agreed.  It wasn’t like he minded firing people if they didn’t do their jobs.  

He never saw Sans lift a single phalange, but whatever he was supposed to do ended up getting done.  Mettaton was worried Papyrus had taken the work on himself to keep his brother employed, but Mettaton realized quickly that Papyrus had only the vaguest idea what Sans’ job actually _was_.

Sans’ image didn’t fit the proper MTT aesthetic, and walking in on him nodding off didn’t put Mettaton in a fantastic mood, but Sans was personable and Mettaton had been struggling to find someone even slightly competent for his position, so he never ended up firing him.

There were times when he considered it, though.

“Sans!” Mettaton grabbed the hood of Sans’ sweater and yanked it down off his skull.  "Darling, since I’m not paying you to sleep, maybe I shouldn’t be paying you!“

Sans started and looked up.  "oh.  hey, boss.”  His grin looked a little strained.  "gave me a real _shock_ there.“

"Good! Maybe next time I’ll electrocute you!  I’d do that right now if it wouldn’t make dear Papyrus so upset!”

“heh.  lucky for me i have such a cool brother.”  

Mettaton wasn’t sure what it was about Sans’ face – the way the lights in his eye sockets looked so distant, the way his smile seemed off-kilter, or the way the permanent shadows under his eye sockets seemed deeper – but he didn’t seem quite like his normal self.  Mettaton felt the anger drain out of him.

“Yes, you are lucky,” Mettaton agreed.  He sat down on the edge of Sans’ desk, leaning back.  "Now, darling, if you aren’t feeling well, why don’t you go home and sleep there?"

"uh.”  Sans rubbed his eyes.  "you got a switch there that turns off angry?"  

"Well, maybe I was a little too worked up.  I hate to say it, but you aren’t looking your best today.”  And that was working from a pretty low standard.  Sans looked _awful._

Sans shrugged.  "just filling out forms.  not exactly working my fingers to the _bone_.“

Mettaton set his hand on the smooth top of Sans’ skull.  "Sweetheart.  Don’t strain yourself.”

“i didn’t think the joke was that bad.”  He didn’t even register that Mettaton’s hand was there.  

“It was.”

Sans blinked a few times, rapidly, and shook his head.  "…well, if the boss says i can skip off work, i’m not going to say no."  

Sans was gone fairly soon after that.  Mettaton noticed he had the papers shoved under his arm when he left.  

Later, well after almost everyone else had gone home, Mettaton found Papyrus as busy as ever.  Mettaton had some new plans for the stage show that he needed Papyrus to start getting to work on, and Papyrus was nothing but enthusiastic about every idea.  

"Really,” Mettaton said, as they finished up, “you need to get home and get some rest.  You need enough energy for tomorrow!”  Some nights he almost had to push Papyrus out the door.  He approved of the dedication, of course, but he didn’t want any of his staff to not be at their best.  "Has your brother been ill?  When I spotted him not working, today, he looked so worn down I didn’t have the heart to tear into him." 

Papyrus looked away.  "OH!  I’M SURE MY BROTHER WILL BE FINE TOMORROW. …OR MAYBE THE NEXT DAY.  YOU’RE RIGHT.  I SHOULD GET BACK.”  

“Is something wrong?”  Mettaton leaned in, curious.  

“UM…EVERYTHING IS FINE!”  He continued to not meet Mettaton’s eyes.  

“Darling, you know you can tell me anything!  It will be just between us.”

“WELL…I DON’T THINK THERE IS ANYTHING WRONG, EXACTLY?”  

Papyrus looked worried and uncomfortable, and Mettaton knew he was being rude and pushy, but he did consider the skeleton brothers his friends and he did want to know if he could help.  He had made a promise to himself to be better to his friends.  So that was a good excuse to be nosy.

“HE JUST GETS UPSET.  ABOUT.  SOMETHING?  OR MAYBE NOTHING??  AND THEN NEVER TALKS ABOUT IT WITH ANYONE.  BUT THEN A LITTLE WHILE LATER, WITH SOME ENCOURAGEMENT FROM HIS COOL BROTHER PAPYRUS, AND ALL HIS LESS COOL BUT OTHERWISE VERY GOOD FRIENDS, HE IS FINE AGAIN.”

“He doesn’t even tell you?  But you’re his favorite person in the world!  If it’s just private and you don’t want to tell me, that’s perfectly all right.”  

“WELL, IT’S BECAUSE I’M HIS FAVORITE PERSON THAT HE DOESN’T TELL ME,” Papyrus said.  "IT IS VERY FRUSTRATING!  BECAUSE I COULD HELP, BUT HE JUST WANTS TO PROTECT ME FROM WHATEVER IT IS.  LIKE I’M A BABYBONES.“  

"Hm. That is a family thing to do, isn’t it?” Mettaton said, his mind turning to his own family.  "Well, tell him that if he’s contagious, I don’t want him coming back here and making everyone else sick.“

"BUT, HE ISN’T SICK?  THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT I SAID?”

Mettaton winked.  "You didn’t tell me anything, darling.  I just must have made that assumption."  

Papyrus stared at him.  "OH.”

“That way, he can take a little time off and get himself back in order.”

“OH!  WE’RE LYING ABOUT HIM BEING SICK!  …SO THAT HE WON’T BE EMBARRASSED?”  

“Something like that.”

Papyrus left to go home, and the next day he was the only one of the two brothers to come in.  "UNFORTUNATELY, MY BROTHER HAS THE FLU!" he said.  "WINK WINK!”  

Mettaton winked back.  

The next time he saw Sans, he looked completely normal.  It was impossible to tell anything had ever been bothering him.  

“hey, boss.”  

“I’m glad to see you’re feeling better, darling.”

“yeah.”  Sans shrugged and held up his hands.  "whatever was _bug_ ging me just _flu_ away."  He laughed at his own joke.  "seriously though, thanks for helping out my bro.  he’s worried about me keeping this job and letting him lie about me being sick was a stand up thing to do.”  

“Honestly, just because it wasn’t contagious doesn’t mean you weren’t sick.” Mettaton said, shrugging.  He leaned down and squeezed Sans’ shoulder, meeting his eyes.  "Now, darling, get back to work before I dock your pay."  He smiled, kissed his own hand, and blew the kiss directly in Sans’ face.  

"you’re a real sweetheart, mtt,” Sans said.  

For the life of him, Mettaton couldn’t tell if that was meant sincerely.


End file.
